1980S: Personal Computer Power

In the eighties computers became available for personal use. Most people in the U.S.A. could afford a computer. One needn’t know programming to be able to use a computer. Computers became popular in homes, schools and offices. The IBM PC was widely used in businesses. The Apple Macintosh first made its way into schools in the late 1980s.

1990S: Computers Are Everywhere

Computers are in homes and offices, there are computer classes at schools. Computers are used to gather and organize information, to solve mathematical problems and to create art. Financial operations are performed in no time with the help of computers. Computer chips are found in cars, microwaves, VCRs and other appliances.

Y2k Problem

On the eve of 2000 the world anticipated big problems with the computers. Experts of different countries spent much time and effort to prevent the computer disaster. The problems were overcome and the Millenium started with minor inconveniences.

XxIst century …

From the time that the first IBM Personal Computer (known to us as “the PC”) was introduced in the fall of 1981, it was clear that it was going to be a very important tool. The PC became the standard for serious desktop computers. From the original PC a whole family of computers – a family with many branches – has evolved. Each member of the family differs in its details and characteristics from its relatives.

After years and years of costly and time-consuming process computers open up a whole new world of telecommunications for us, provide the opportunity to publish the electronic word, sound, image and motion segment.

Words and expressions:

Part and parcel – неотъемлемаячасть

predecessors – предшественники

to keep track – следить

could afford computers - могли позволить себе приобрести компьютер

vital – жизненно необходимый

to evolve - развиваться

1) Work in groups

Write a list of things you can do using a personal computer. Compare this list with the one given at the end of the Unit. Have you missed anything ? What other things you could do with a PC not mentioned there ?

2) Translate the text:

Review of Educational Computer Use in American Schools and in Other Developed Countries

Computers have been used in education since the 1950s in the United States, Japan, England, Germany and other highly industrialized countries. Today every school has some sort of computer system for administrative and educational purposes.

In a large university there may be several high-speed mainframe computers used for library data bases and for scientific research. The administrative departments will make use of networked mini-computer work stations for purposes of accounting, personnel and student record keeping, publications, and scheduling of students, teachers, classes and classrooms. There is an Internet Server for the University. Some departments have computer laboratories with networks of PC’s (personal computers) for the purpose of student education in their specific fields. And finally the teachers and students themselves have their own PC’s.

Even in smaller schools such as a local primary school, there will often be a number of networked PC’s for administrative purposes. Often there will be a computer laboratory where students learn basic computer skills. And it’s not uncommon that several classrooms will have a stand-alone PC for use in delivering lessons. The teachers very often have their own computer and students even as young as 6 or 7 either have used a computer before, have one in the family, or have one for their own personal use.

Different computer programs are provided for educational purposes: Teaching, Testing, Drawing Programs, different Specialized Programs (for mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc.) and the Computer-administered exam. There is also language teaching software that can give a student individualized instruction in a foreign language. (After Frank Jur)

3) Read the extract from the article “The Lifestyles of the Not-So-Rich” by L. Zagalsky (published in “Popular Science”, a Times Mirror Magazine. August 1994) and comment on it.

“Personal computers were alien objects until the end of the 1980s, when Mikhail Gorbachev passed a decree ordering “total computerization of the country”. Every high school in the country was required to create “computer classes,” where the kids could learn how to operate PCs.

Of course, the computers came from abroad. Russian PCs, as people joked, were only good for cracking nuts.

Many people today have not enough money for computers. In the last couple of years, though, some individuals have started buying PCs. Some are successful writers who can afford to spend $1,500 – the equivalent of two years’ salary for the average Russian. Others are the rapidly growing class of young wheeler-dealers, who prefer laptops. They are mostly for show; I doubt that these young guys know how to get much use out of them.”

The author describes the situation in 1994. Has it changed since then ? Do you agree with all the statements in the article ? Find out how many students in your group have a PC. Do you have a PC ? Do you have an access to Internet ? Do you send and receive E-mail ? Do you enjoy using a PC ? Can you perform many operations ?

Things you can do with a PC:

Learn languages Get up-to-date news

Find information about different things Learn weather forecast

Do shopping Do research in many fields

Transfer money Play a game of chess

Read newspapers and even books Send and receive pictures

And many other useful things …

Unit 9

RUSSIA

Russia, or officially Russian Federation, stretches over a vast expanse of Eastern Europe and northern Asia. Once the largest republic of the U.S.S.R., Russia has been an independent state since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Moscow is the capital and the largest city

The country borders on Norway and Finland in the northwest; Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, and Ukraine in the west; on Georgia and Azerbaidjan in the southwest: and on Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China in the south. The Kaliningrad region is an exclave on the Baltic Sea..

The world’s largest country by land area, Russia ranks sixth in terms of population. There are at least 60 different ethnic groups in it. The majority of the population are Russians (83%). There are also Ukrainians and such non-Slavic linguistic and ethnic groups as Tatars, Bashkirs, Chuvash, Mordovians, Jews, Germans, Armenians and numerous groups in the Far North and in the Caucasus.

Administratively Russia is divided into territories or regions, republics, autonomous regions (oblasts) and autonomous areas (okrugs). In 2000 the administrative units of Russia were grouped into seven regional districts: Northwest (St. Petesburg), Central (Moscow), Volga (Nizhny Novgorod), North Caucasus (Rostov-na-Donu), Ural (Yekaterinburg), Siberia (Novosibirsk), and Far East (Khabarovsk).

Russia’s dominant relief features are (from west to east) the East European plain, the Urals, the West Siberian lowland, and the central Siberian plateau. Mt. Elbrus in the Caucasus is the highest peak in the country. There are many long and powerful rivers in Russia, among them the Don, the Volga, the Ob, the Lena, the Yenisei, and the Amur. The most famous lake is in Siberia – Lake Baikal, the world’s largest fresh water reservoir.

The climate of Russia, generally continental, varies from extreme cold in the North and Siberia (where Verkhoyansk, the coldest settled place on earth, is situated) to subtropical along the Black sea shore. The vegetation zones include the tundra and taiga belts, steppes and deserts and subtropical zones.

The majority of Russia’s population has no religious affiliation. Since the end of Soviet rule the number of believers is growing rapidly.

Note: “an exclave” - a portion of a country geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory.

ACTIVITIES:

1. Find English equivalents in the text

1. огромные пространства

2. распад Советского Союза

3. граничит с

4. занимает шестое место

5. населенный пункт

6. зоны растительности

7. степи и пустыни

2. Complete the sentences matching A and B:

A B

The Russian Federation became Russia borders Russians are Russia is the largest The climate of Russia is It’s extremely cold

by land area. generally continental. in the North. an independent state in 1991. on Norway in the northwest. the majority of population.

3. Find synonyms:

a. to extend, to inhabit, huge, powerful, different, famous, rapidly, feature, country, large, border.

b. quickly, vast, well-known, great, to live in, mighty, element, to stretch, frontier, state, various.

4. Work in pairs. Take it in turns to ask and answer these questions:

1. Was the dissolution of the Soviet Union a positive event ? Why ?

2. Do you think Russia should unite with some former Soviet republics ?

3. With what republics might Russia unite in the nearest future ?

4. What positive changes did Gorbachev bring to Russia ?

5. What part of Russia has the best climate ?

6. Where in Russia would you like to live ? Why ?

5) Read the texts about the government structure and economy of Russia. Render the texts in English.

Government

The Russian Federation is a republic whose government has separate and independent branches of power: legislative, executive and judicial. The head of state is a popularly elected president. The Legislative branch is represented by Federal Assembly and is divided into an upper house, the Federation Council, and a lower house, the State Duma. The Federation Council has 178 members, consisting of two representatives from the governments of each republic, territory, region, and area. There are 450 members in the State Duma. Half of them are elected from districts; the rest of the seats are distribute among those parties whose national vote exceeds 5%. The president appoints the prime-minister with the approval of the legislature. If his choice for this post is not approved three times, the president can dissolve the Federal Assembly.

Economy: General Information

The Russian Federation inherited a Marxist-Leninist command economy from the USSR. All enterprises were owned by the state and farmland was also state-owned or collectivized. All economic planning was done by government officials based in Moscow. Market forces played no part in their decision making.

During the Gorbachev era many of the basic elements of the Soviet command economy were weakened. The policies of glasnost and perestroika loosened social controls. Limited private ownership of businesses and land was granted, and prices were allowed to rise in accordance with market forces.

After the failed August Coup in 1991 a new era of a market-based economy started. In 1992, the Russian government promised to give citizens shares in many industries, and in 1996, the people got the right to sell and buy land for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution in 1917. The rapid transition from a severely controlled system to the beginnings of a market economy created chaotic conditions. Few Russians profited greatly, but most suffered economic hardship. Inflation grew. But in 1999, however, the Russian economy began to improve.

5. Make Flashcards:

Independent - независимый, to border on - граничить, ethnic - этнический, relief - рельеф, legislative - , executive - , judicial - юридический, to elect - избирать, representatives - представители, to appoint - назначать, to approve of - одобрять, private - частный.

6) Translate the text:

Post-Soviet Russia

After more than seven decades of Soviet rule, the regime of President Gorbachev marked the end of repressive political controls and permitted nationalist movements to arise in the constituent republics of the USSR. In 1990, Boris Yeltsin and other reformers were elected to the Russian parliament. Yeltsin became Russian president. Under Yeltsin, Russia declared its sovereignty (but not its independence) and began to challenge the central government’s authority. In 1991, Yeltsin was reelected in the first election for president in the history of the Russian republic.

Following the coup attempt, the U.S.S.R disintegrated. With Ukraine and Belarus, Russia established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The current constitution of the Russian Federation was approved in December, 1993. It strengthened presidential power and established a mixed presidential-parliamentary system.

Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia has had to confront separatist movements in several areas. In the mid- and late 1990s, Russia took steps towards closer relations with some of the former Soviet republics.

Under Putin, Russia revived its ties with many former Soviet states and more independent-minded former Soviet republics.

Note: “decade” - десятилетие

7). Numbered Heads Together

Read the text and prepare a minute presentation of our country at the Tourism Fair:

Welcome to the New Russia

One of the most notable features of present day Russia is a renewed celebration of the wealth of its past and its potential for the future. Throwing off the blanket of communist uniformity, Russia today is a nation of enormous diversity and tremendous vitality. Ancient cathedrals are being rebuilt and restored, colorful markets hum with activity once again and literature and the arts are becoming creative as it was decades ago. A new Russia is in full bloom.

For most westerners, Russia is associated with Moscow and St. Petersburg. This is the heartland of Russia. Many tourists visit them every year. However there is much more to see in Russia, a country that has eleven time zones and stretches over Europe and Asia, ending less than 50 miles from North America. You can visit here the largest freshwater lake, rivers and forests rich in fish and wildlife. Volcanoes and towering mountains will amaze you.

Russia is the largest country on earth that has opened its picturesque parts to foreign travelers only in the last few years.

(From The Official Guide to Russia)

8) Buzz group. Write an outline for an essay “My Motherland.” Discuss it in class.

9) Write a two-page essay “My Motherland.”

Supplement 1

Sergei Kapitsa (14 February 1928 – 14 August 2012)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sergei Petrovich Kapitsa was a Russian physicist and demographer. He was best known as host of the popular and long-running Russian scientific TV show “Evident, but Incredible”. His father was the Nobel laureate (Soviet-era) physicist Pyotr Kapitsa, and his brother, Andrey Kapitsa, was a geographer and Antarctic explorer.

Kapitsa was born in Cambridge, England, the son of Anna Alekseevna (Krylova) and Pyotr Kapitsa. His maternal grandfather was Aleksey Nikolaevich Krylov, naval engineer, applied mathematician and memoirist. Kapitsa graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1949.

Kapitsa's contributions to physics were in the areas of applied electrodynamics and accelerator physics; he is known, in particular, for his work on the microtron. Later his research focus was on historical demography, where he developed a number of mathematical models of the World System population growth.

Kapitsa was vice president of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Russia and president of the Eurasian Physical Society. He was an advocate of planetary exploration and served on the advisory council of the Planetary Society. Kapitsa was a pioneer of scuba diving in the Soviet Union, he shot the first underwater film about the Sea of Japan, which was shown at international film festivals, in Cannes, where it was second only to the film by Jacques Cousteau.

Kapitsa got a number of awards for his activities in science popularization including the first gold medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Thomas Cruise

Mini biography

Thomas Cruise is considered one of the top 100 movie stars of all time. He is one of the highest paid and most sought after actors in screen history. He was born in 1962 in Syracuse. The only son (among four children) of nomadic parents young Tom spent his boyhood moving from place to place, and by the time he was 14 he had attended 15 different schools in the US and Canada. He finally settled in New Jersey, with his mother and her new husband. While in high school, he developed an interest in acting, dropped out of school, and at age 18 headed for New York and a possible acting career.

The next 15 years of his life are the stuff of legends. Tom Cruise is one of the best liked members of the movie community. He was married to actress Nicole Kidman until 2001. She and Cruise adopted two children: Isabella Jane (born in 1993) and Connor Antony (born 1995). Despite their rock-solid image, the couple announced in early 2001 that they were separating due to career conflicts.

Biography of

Nicole Kidman

Elegant redhead Nicole Kidman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Anthony (a biochemist and clinical psychologist) and Janelle (a nursing instructor) Kidman. The family moved almost immediately to Washington, D.C

Young Nicole's first love was ballet, but she took up mime and drama as well (her first stage role was a bleating sheep in an elementary school Christmas performance). In her adolescent years she worked regularly at the Philip Street Theater.

Kidman eventually dropped out of high school to be able to act full-time. She broke into movies at age 16.

Family life has always been a priority for Kidman. When her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, 17-year-old Nicole stopped working and took a massage course so that she could provide physical therapy (her mom eventually beat the cancer). Nicole and Cruise made an impression of a solid family with their two adopted children, but in early 2001 they separated.

NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS

Joseph Brodsky

Joseph Brodsky is a native of Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. He has lived in the United States since 1972, when he was exiled from the Soviet Union. His poetry has been published in twelve languages. Joseph Brodsky received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1987. He was chosen by the Library of Congress to serve as Poet Laureate of the United States in 1992. Joseph Brodsky is Professor of Literature at Mount Holyoke College, and resided in New York. The famous poet died in 1996.

Andrei Sakharov, (1921 - 1989)

Andrei Sakharov is often called the "father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb," but most people know him as one of the twentieth century's most active fighter for human rights and freedoms. The Nobel Committee awarded him the Peace Prize in 1975. The Soviet authorities denied him permission to go to Norway to receive his award. He was considered a dissident in the Soviet time.

Sakharov was born on May 21, 1921, the son of a physics teacher, in Vitebsk, Belorussia. He remembers: "From childhood, I lived in an atmosphere of decency, mutual help and tact, respect for work, and for the mastery of one's profession." In 1938 he enrolled in the physics department of Moscow University where he was an outstanding student.

Sakharov began to work on the Soviet nuclear weapons program in June 1948. Later he wrote, "no one asked whether or not I wanted to take part in such work. I had no real choice.” In a few months, the young physics graduate student came up with a totally new idea for an H-bomb design.

He wrote about the horrors that the bomb would bring, about the necessity to stop testing and began to attack the Soviet political system. Sakharov was fired from the weapons program. He became an advocate of human rights. The Soviet authorities sent him to exile in Gorkii in January 1980. His years of isolation ended in December 1986, when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev invited Sakharov to return to Moscow.

Sakharov worked tirelessly to promote democracy in the Soviet Union until the very last day of his life. He was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies and appointed a member of the commission responsible for drafting a new Soviet constitution. On the day he died, December 14, 1989, he spoke before the Soviet

Congress about the importance of political pluralism and market economy. Later that evening his wife Elena Bonner found him dead in his study.

Zhores I. Alferov

(From his Autobiography)

Life goes on surprisingly fast. I have recently marked the 70th birthday.

My parents, Ivan Karpovich, and Anna Vladimirovna, were born and raised in Byelorussia. At the age of eighteen my father arrived in St. Petersburg, in the year 1912. He got a job as a worker at a plant.

During World War I, he was a brave hussar. In September 1917, my father joined the Bolshevik party and believed in the socialist and communist principles to the end of his life.

Mother headed a public organization of housewives; worked as a librarian and always remained our close friend. Learning was easy to me.

I was lucky in having an excellent physics teacher. After school I entered a celebrated Ul'yanov Electrotechnical Institute in Leningrad.

Being a third-year student, I began to work in a laboratory. In December 1952, I graduated from the Institute and began to work at the Physico-Technical Institute, founded by Ioffe.

I am proud of what we had accomplished. We comprised a team of very young people. Under the guidance of V.M. Tuchkevich we succeeded in working out principles of transistor electronics. In May 1953, the first Soviet transistor receivers were shown to the "top authorities".

Many discoveries were made later…

All that had been made by human beings and due to Science. And if our country's choice is to be a Great Power, Russia will be the great power not because of the nuclear potential, not because of faith in God or president, or western investments but thanks to the labor of the nation, faith in Knowledge and Science and thanks to the maintenance and development of scientific potential and education.

When I was a little boy of ten, I read a wonderful book "Two Captains" (by V. Kaverin). In my life I have been following the principle of the main character of that book: "One should make efforts and search for. And having obtained whatever the purpose, to make efforts again".

Of great importance here is to know what you are struggling for.

(From HYPERLINK http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/lesprix.html)